China National Building Material Group (CNBM) overtook Anhui Conch as the nation's biggest cement producer in the first half of the year and said it will continue expanding cement production capacity in the next few years, despite warnings of oversupply from analysts.
In the first half, CNBM's sales of cement and clinker - the solid material made by the cement kiln stage of production - soared 48.3 per cent to 70.12 million tonnes, while that of Anhui Conch grew 15.6 per cent to 62.8 million tonnes.
CNBM, which is listed in Hong Kong, is also Asia's biggest producer of lightweight building materials.
Asked whether CNBM would remain China's top cement producer, company president Thomas Cao Jianglin replied: 'In future, what is more important is profitability and sales volume.'
The cement production capacity of the state-owned conglomerate would expand from 170 million tonnes in the first half to 190 million tonnes by the year's end, Cao said.
For the next two years, CNBM's cement production capacity would rise by 20 million tonnes each year, which would require an annual capital expenditure of roughly 700 million yuan (HK$799.25 million), he said. 'Our cash flow is enough to meet this capital expenditure.'